Noosa's first Community Jury in good hands
Noosa Mayor Noel Playford says Noosa's first Community Jury is in good hands with newDemocracy Foundation (nDF) overseeing the process.
“nDF is a respected non-aligned, non-political Australian research foundation supported by politicians from across the spectrum and a host of leading Australian academics,” he says.
Community juries are a tried and tested community consultation model used extensively in Europe, and with great success under nDF's guidance in Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and greater Victoria.
“Noosa fought passionately for de-amalgamation because residents wanted more of a say on matters that affect us all,” says Cr Playford.
“The community jury is one of many tools the new Noosa Council is trialling to keep the community firmly in the driver’s seat, and the feedback has been positive.
“In fact, the response to the 3000 jury invitations sent randomly to Noosa residents was higher than that seen in capital cities such as Melbourne.”
The 23-member jury reflects the shire’s demographic profile with the young and old represented. It includes one 18-25 year-old, two 25-34 year-olds, four 35-44 year-olds, four 45-54-year-olds, five panel members aged 55-64 and seven members aged over 65.
“By using a community jury we get to hear from a wide range of residents, not just the loudest voices, on issues that affect us all,” says Cr Playford.
All members are residents, 14 are ratepayers, 9 are tenants, 12 are men and 11 are women.
They include a dental assistant, a plumber, a PhD student, a retired horticulturalist, a mother of three, a farmer, a nurse and a mathematician.
They'll spend the next five months investigating options for minimising the 10,000 tonnes of organic waste dumped at our landfill annually; each of them bringing a unique perspective to the table.
They can call on expert witnesses and review public submissions, which can be lodged at Council’s YourSay Noosa website.
“As with the issues other Australian community juries have tackled, there is no single right answer. There are many different options and they all come with different, but lasting implications,” says Cr Playford.
“The complexity of organic waste management makes it an ideal topic for a community-panel to investigate over an extended period using a time-tested process that has delivered great results elsewhere in Australia.”
Sydney’s City of Canada Bay and Darebin in Victoria, as well as the City of Melbourne, used community juries to gauge the community's view on complex budget priorities.
In Adelaide and Sydney community juries have looked at the complex question of how to achieve a safe and vibrant nightlife in their CBDs, and now Adelaide is using it to look at ways to make cycling safer in the city.
To view residents’ submissions and all of the Jury’s documents and the Jury profile, visit Council’s YourSay Noosa web page at http://yoursay.noosa.qld.gov.au
20 February 2015